How? Just how???!!!
It’s that time of year again, and the Grammys have announced their 2018 nominees for their 60th-anniversary show. Dope. Cool. Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar are going to be battling it out for Album of the Year, which was widely expected.
But what is probably most surprising is that somehow Belcalis Almanzar, aka Cardi B, did not make the cut for Best New Artist.
How?
We are talking about the Bronx, N.Y., rapper whose song “Bodak Yellow” was damn near ubiquitous all summer and beyond. The same song that teachers used to help children learn geography. The same song that has a Latin Trap remix #ForTheCulture. The same song that duked it out with Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” and kicked it to the curb where it belonged and at the same time crowned Cardi B as the first solo female rapper to hit No. 1 since 1998, when Lauryn Hill gave us “Doo Wop.”
But yet, for Best New Artist we have listed as the nominees Alessia Cara, Khalid, Lil Uzi Vert, Julia Michaels and SZA.
I don’t even know who Julia Michaels is. My co-workers inform me that she has some song called “Issues,” but I have never heard this song a day in my life, so I am rather confused.
Somehow, I feel like this is The Root staff writer Michael Harriot’s fault. Don’t ask me how. This is my story, and I am sticking to it.
This is the slander he wrote earlier this year:
Despite missing out on a Best New Artist nomination, Cardi was nominated for Best Rap Performance and Rap Song, thanks to “Bodak Yellow,” of course, which is interesting, but I don’t pretend to know the inner workings of the Grammys.
At any rate, here are what some of the categories are looking like for 2018, per the Los Angeles Times (where you can also see the full list):
Album of the Year:
- Awaken, My Love!—Childish Gambino
- 4:44—Jay-Z
- Damn.—Kendrick Lamar
- Melodrama—Lorde
- 24K Magic—Bruno Mars
Record of the Year:
- “Redbone”—Childish Gambino
- “Despacito”—Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber
- “The Story of O.J.”—Jay-Z
- “Humble.”—Kendrick Lamar
- ”24K Magic”—Bruno Mars
Song of the Year:
- “Despacito”—Ramón Ayala, Justin Bieber, Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd, Erika Ender, Luis Fonsi and Marty James Garton, songwriters (Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber)
- “4:44”—Shawn Carter and Dion Wilson, songwriters (Jay-Z)
- “Issues”—Benny Blanco, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Julia Michaels and Justin Drew Tranter, songwriters (Julia Michaels)
- “1-800-273-8255”—Alessia Caracciolo, Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Arjun Ivatury and Khalid Robinson, songwriters (Logic Featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid)
- “That’s What I Like”—Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus and Jonathan Yip, songwriters (Bruno Mars)
New Artist:
- Alessia Cara
- Khalid
- Lil Uzi Vert
- Julia Michaels
- SZA
R&B Performance:
- “Get You”—Daniel Caesar featuring Kali Uchis
- “Distraction”—Kehlani
- “High”—Ledisi
- “That’s What I Like”—Bruno Mars
- “The Weekend”—SZA
Traditional R&B Performance:
- “Laugh and Move On”—the Baylor Project
- “Redbone”—Childish Gambino
- “What I’m Feelin’”—Anthony Hamilton featuring the Hamiltones
- “All the Way”—Ledisi
- “Still”—Mali Music
R&B Album:
- Freudian—Daniel Caesar
- Let Love Rule—Ledisi
- 24K Magic—Bruno Mars
- Gumbo—P.J. Morton
- Feel the Real—Musiq Soulchild
Rap Performance:
- “Bounce Back”—Big Sean
- “Bodak Yellow”—Cardi B
- “4:44”—Jay-Z
- “Humble.”—Kendrick Lamar
- “Bad and Boujee”—Migos featuring Lil Uzi Vert
Rap/Sung Performance:
- “Prblms”—6lack
- “Crew”—Goldlink featuring Brent Faiyaz and Shy Glizzy
- “Family Feud”—Jay-Z featuring Beyoncé
- “Loyalty.”—Kendrick Lamar featuring Rihanna
- “Love Galore”—SZA featuring Travis Scott
Rap Song
- “Bodak Yellow”—Dieuson Octave, Klenord Raphael, Shaftizm, Jordan Thorpe, Washpoppin and J White, songwriters (Cardi B)
- “Chase Me”—Judah Bauer, Brian Burton, Hector Delgado, Jaime Meline, Antwan Patton, Michael Render, Russell Simins & Jon Spencer, songwriters (Danger Mouse featuring Run the Jewels and Big Boi)
- “Humble.”—K. Duckworth, Asheton Hogan & M. Williams II, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar)
- “Sassy”—E. Gabouer & M. Evans, songwriters (Rapsody)
- “The Story of O.J.”—Shawn Carter and Dion Wilson, songwriters (Jay-Z)
Rap Album
- 4:44—Jay-Z
- Damn.—Kendrick Lamar
- Culture—Migos
- Laila’s Wisdom—Rapsody
- Flower Boy—Tyler, the Creator